On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 a.m., an earthquake estimated at close
to 8.0 on the Richter scale struck San Francisco, California,
killing an estimated 3,000 people as it topples numerous
buildings.

The quake was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a
segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt
from southern Oregon down to Los Angeles.

San Francisco’s brick buildings and wooden Victorian structures
were especially devastated. Fires immediately broke out and–
because broken water mains prevented firefighters from stopping
them–firestorms soon developed citywide.

Ray Edward Cochran

Eddie Cochran, the man behind “Summertime Blues” and “C’mon Everybody,” was killed on April 17, 1960 when the taxi carrying
him from a show in Bristol, England, crashed en route to the
airport in London, where he was to catch a flight back home to
the United States. He had been on a triumphant concert tour of
Britain. Cochran was only 21.

1959

With the world anxiously watching, Apollo 13, a U.S. lunar spacecraft
that suffered a severe malfunction on its journey to the moon, safely returned to Earth on April 17, 1970.

FOX NEWS

From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Apollo 16, the fifth of six U.S.
lunar landing missions,was successfully launched (above)
on its 238,000-mile journey to the moon.

The prime crew of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission. From
left to right: Thomas K. Mattingly II, Command Module pilot; John W. Young, Commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., Lunar Module pilot.